This invention relates to a connector adapted to be interposed between two connection objects to connect these connection objects to each other (hereinafter, the connector will be called an “intermediate connector”).
A connector of the type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2002-56907 as an “electric connecting member”. The electric connecting member comprises a double-sided adhesive sheet, a conductive member penetrating the double-sided adhesive sheet, and a pair of metal thin films disposed on opposite surfaces of the double-sided adhesive sheet and connected to the conductive member.
In the electric connecting member, if an operation error occurs during a step of attaching the conductive member to the double-sided adhesive sheet, not only the conductive member but also the double-sided adhesive sheet are inevitably discarded. Thus, the electric connecting member is poor in retriability. Further, since the electric connecting member has a structure in which the metal thin films fixed to the opposite surfaces of the double-sided adhesive sheet are connected by the conductive member, an increased number of components are required. Therefore, the structure is complicated so that assembling and disassembling operations are troublesome, the number of production steps is increased, and the production cost is high.
Another connector of the type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. H06-76876 as an “anisotropic conductive connector”. The anisotropic conductive connector comprises an insulating film, a plurality of fine conductive patterns formed on a surface of the insulating film by etching, and a rubber-like elastic member. The insulating film is folded into a generally U shape so that the conductive patterns are exposed outside and the elastic member is interposed between folded portions of the insulating film. Further, the insulating film and the elastic member are fixed to each other.
In the anisotropic conductive connector described above, the conductive patterns can not individually be deformed or displaced. Therefore, it is difficult to accommodate deformation of the connection objects. Further, since the conductive patterns are formed by etching, a mask is required as well known in the art. Therefore, the productivity is not improved.
Still another connector of the type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-123868 as a “press-contact connector”. The press-contact connector comprises an insulating elastomer, an insulating rubber sheet covering the insulating elastomer and fixed thereto by an adhesive, and a plurality of conductive thin wires arranged along a surface of the insulating rubber sheet at a predetermined pitch.
In the press-contact connector, the insulating elastomer and the insulating rubber sheet are fixed to each other by the adhesive. Therefore, if the connector is elastically deformed, an adhered portion may be damaged due to a difference in hardness and deformability between the insulating elastomer and the insulating rubber sheet.